Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: end of September to Thanksgiving
May also be used during Advent or Lent as a Gratitude project.
Grade 3 - Lesson 2
Grade 3 Who I AM… Lesson 2
Background:
This mentor text provides non-fiction information about trees along with a
fictional story about an acorn. The text introduces virtues of our faith coupled
with poetry and an inspiring example of a circle story.
Curriculum Expectation – Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations, Overall and Specific
Expectations from related Subjects
Learning Goal:
Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations
CGE2a: Listens actively and critically to understand and learn in light of
 Students will learn the
gospel values.
Catholic Character
CGE5a: Works effectively as an interdependent team member.
Themes.
Religion Overall Expectations
ML1: Demonstrate an understanding of how God teaches us to be good  Students will infer and
answer higher order
and to reflect this goodness in our actions.
thinking questions.
Language Expectations
Reading
 Students will learn
Overall Expectations
about the
1. read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary,
characteristics of poetry
graphic, and informational texts, using a range of strategies to
and circle stories.
construct meaning.
2. recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements
and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate
meaning.
Specific Expectations
Comprehension Strategies
1.3 identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use
them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand
texts.
Demonstrating Understanding
1.4 demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts by identifying
important ideas and some supporting details.
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
1
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
Making Inferences/Interpreting Texts
1.5 make inferences about texts using stated and implied ideas from
the texts as evidence.
Instructional Components
Book Description:
Terminology
Resources/Materials
The Happiness Tree
Catholic Character Themes
- Mentor Text:
By Andrea Alban Gosline
Verbs
The Happiness Tree
So begins the magical journey
from seed of hope to forest of
happiness. This ode to trees
invites readers to discover life’s
true gifts – peace, courage, love,
generosity, tolerance – as
revealed by our precious forest
friends.
Poetry
-
BLM “Trees ”
Circle stories
-
BLM “Catholic Character
Themes and Verbs” cards
-
BLM “The Happiness Tree
H.O.T. Question”
-
BLM “Assessment of H.O.T.
Question”
Prayer/Scripture Focus
2 Peter 1:5
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with
knowledge.
Minds On
Approximately 5 Minutes
Assessment
Prior to reading this mentor text, collect and display pictures of the
different trees found in the text to activate prior knowledge. Use BLM
“Trees” to illustrate.
Have students discuss in small groups what they already know about
poetry as the book they will hear will have many elements of poetry in
it.
As the groups share their findings, the teacher will record student
thoughts on the characteristics of a poem on an anchor chart to be
posted in the room.
(can rhyme, has rhythm, short, might have verses, can be humourous
or sad, can be about feelings)
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
2
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
Introduce the book “The Happiness Tree”. Examine the title, author
and the illustrator. Explain that this text is considered a poem. It is
also considered to be a circle story. Circular stories follow a “round”
pattern—they begin and end in the same way. Like the cycle of seasons
or the life cycle, circular stories follow a predictable series of events
that returns to the starting point.
Prepare the Catholic character themes and verbs cards prior to the
lesson as they will help determine groupings for the assigned work.
Pass out a card to each student and tell them to wait until the read
aloud is over before looking at it. The student who has the Catholic
character theme that matches the student who has the verb will be
paired together to work on a higher order thinking question. If
possible, plan your groupings while passing out the cards to ensure the
pairs are suitable.
Action
Approximately 40 Minutes
Read the book The Happiness Tree aloud. If possible, display the book
on the Smartboard in order for the students to see the verbs and the
Catholic character themes. While reading, draw attention to the fact
that at the beginning we see the sentence: “Everything good begins
with me,” and we see the exact same sentence at the end of the book.
This is a characteristic of a circle story. Furthermore, highlight the
rhyming words the author used to make this text poetic. Focus on the
Catholic character themes that are presented along with the verbs that
are used to describe them.
Assessment
Anecdotal notes
Group Assessment of
H.O.T. Question
Assessment of H.O.T.
Question
“Catholic character themes help us in developing a pure heart that is
open to God’s will. They are true gifts we receive in life.”
Ask the students to think/pair and share about the following question:
“How do the Catholic character themes and God’s love help us to be
able to bounce back following difficult situations, with a healthy sense
of ourselves?”
“Verbs are action words. They are used to give sentences movement.”
“It is finally time to look at our cards and see what is on them.”
“Some of us have a Catholic character theme and some of us have a
verb.”
“Let’s start with the Catholic character themes. Who has hope? Does
anyone know which verb was used to describe this theme? That’s
correct, the verb was “begin”! You two are going to partners for our
next assignment.”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
3
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
Continue forming the pairings until all students have a partner. Make
two columns titled “Catholic character themes” and “Verbs” on the
chalk board or Smart Board. Ask the students to place their card in the
proper columns.
Introduce the question. “In what ways is the acorn in this story similar
to you? Use information from the text and your own ideas to explain
your thinking.”
Ask the students to discuss it as a whole group using the “Talking
Circle” strategy described at
(http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/aboriginal/strategygr01lancircle.pdf.
Talking circles symbolize completeness and equality. All circle
participants’ views must be respected and listened to. All comments
directly address the question or the issue, not the comments another
person has made. In the circle, an object that symbolizes
connectedness to the land – for example, a stick, a stone, or a feather –
can be used to facilitate the circle. Only the person holding the “talking
stick” has the right to speak. Participants can indicate their desire to
speak by raising their hands. Going around the circle systematically
gives everyone the opportunity to participate. Silence is also
acceptable – any participant can choose not to speak.
Once the talking circle activity is completed, pass the BLM “The
Happiness Tree H.O.T. Question” to each group. Review the success
criteria which are also found on their sheet for reference. Remind
them to recall all of the ideas that were spoke of during our talking
circle session to aid them in answering the question. Pairs work
together to ensure they are aiming for a level 4. Ask them to use the
success criteria found on their page to self-assess their answer. The
responses could then be assessed by the teacher using the same
criteria.
Consolidation
Approximately 5 Minutes
Assessment
Gather in a circle. Tell the class that you will read the pages where the
Catholic character themes and verbs are found again. Ask the pairs to
stand when they hear their theme and verb. They will have to mime
what is being said on the page where their theme is found.
Ask “Everything good begins with me. How do you think that
statement can be applied to your own life? How do you show the
same traits described in this book?”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
4
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
Final Notes
Students could complete a question independently following this group assignment.
Extension: As a making connections question was posed in this lesson, consider asking a question
that involves inferencing such as:
“Why do you think the author changed the size and colour of the print when she wrote the words for
the Catholic character themes and verbs? Use information from the text to explain your thinking.”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
5
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Trees”
Oak Tree and Leaf
Yellow Poplar and Leaf
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
6
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Trees”
White Pine Tree and Needles
Sugar Maple Tree and Leaf
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
7
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Trees”
Flowering Dogwood Tree and Leaf
American Elm Tree and Leaf
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
8
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Trees”
Blue Spruce Tree and Needles
Southern Magnolia Tree and Leaf
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
9
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Trees”
Paper Birch Tree and Leaf
Redwood Tree and Needles
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
10
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Catholic Character Themes and Verbs”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
11
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Catholic Character Themes and Verbs”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
12
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Catholic Character Themes and Verbs”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
13
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Catholic Character Themes and Verbs”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
14
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Catholic Character Themes and Verbs”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
15
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Catholic Character Themes and Verbs”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
16
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Catholic Character Themes and Verbs”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
17
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Catholic Character Themes and Verbs”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
18
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Catholic Character Themes and Verbs”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
19
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Catholic Character Themes and Verbs”
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
20
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“The Happiness Tree H.O.T. Question”
Names: _______________________________________
“In what ways is the acorn in this story similar to you? Use information
from the text and your own ideas to explain your thinking.”
Success Criteria
Criteria
Group Assessment
Does our response answer the question?
Does our answer have supporting details,
words and evidence from the text?
Did we add our own relevant and welldeveloped ideas?
Did we clearly link our own ideas to the
evidence from the text?
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
21
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
“Assessment of H.O.T. Question”
Success Criteria
Criteria
Met
Notes:
The response answers the question.
The answer has supporting details, words
and evidence from the text.
The response has relevant and welldeveloped ideas.
The ideas are clearly linked to the
evidence from the text.
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
22
EOCCC
Religious Education & Positive Mental Health and Wellness: Who I AM Makes A Difference Because Jesus Loves Me!
Grade 3 – Lesson 2
23
EOCCC